Photo Shoot - as in what NOT to do...

Humility
Humility
Humility

Seems like everything I put my hand to lately just doesn't turn out.  Like the recipes:  I think of myself as a fairly capable cook, but whoa on these new recipes....seriously, why are so many of them over seasoned, undercooked, and bad tasting?   Of course, my yen for substituting ingredients couldn't have anything to do with it, right?  (is that even a correct way to use the term "yen"?)

Anyway, still wondering what was I thinking???? when my coworker Elisa asked if I'd be willing to photograph her wedding.  Of course, I warned her that I have no experience, I'm anything but a professional, a weddings a rough place to try on the wings of "real" photography ... Oh, she gushed, you'll do great.  She wasn't really after anything very formal, just wanted some shots of the ceremony and some group shots after.  Easy enough?

No.

Weddings are never EVER easy, I've been told.  Too much stress.  Too many variables.  Too many situations beyond the control of the photographer.

But I'm thinking:  beautiful bride (aren't they all?).  I'm thinking great opportunity to try out my skills in something a little more challenging.  I'm thinking between Brent and me, we should be able to pull this off, right?

So this is what happened Saturday.  Now we had already spent the afternoon the Saturday before checking out the park where she was having her wedding.  We had done our homework.  Brent had spent the week going through the web looking for suggestions on how to set the camera for work with white bridal gowns.  We made sure our batteries were charged and our cards were emptied of old photos and ready for the new.  That we even had a card in the camera was good since I left mine home the week before.   We even left early enough to stop in Orem and purchase a diffuser for my flash so I could get those "shadowed" close ups without a shadow.  We even arrived early, in spite of the fact that I was one of the ones in attendance (so notoriously late am I).

And then things started to unravel like a lose thread at the bottom of hand knit sweater.  One stitch at a time...

First of all, I chose to use the lens I am most comfortable with.  Didn't want to chance anything on this day.  So I pulled out my camera, pulled out my trusty 75/300 as well as the other lens that came with the camera.  Which I sat on the ladder and never picked up again.  Never used the ladder either.  Or the flash!   What was I thinking??????  Well, to be honest, I was just thinking I need to get everything on film.  Everything.  Everything.   And nothing.

There was a glitch.  The wedding was ready to start.  The groomsmen were supposed to pull up to the site in a classic old pickup the groom had restored.  The bridesmaids and bride were supposed to come in right after in a classic car from the 50's driven by the bride's brother.  Well,just as they started to pull onto the grass (above) the groundskeeper came running out of her home yelling for them to stop.  They couldn't do that!  The truck pulled around her and kept going but she stood in front of the car and started screeching that she was going to call the cops!  They could not do what they were doing!

(photo by Brent)

Everyone stood to watch what was going on.  ...not quite the entrance the Bride had dreamed of.

(photo by Brent)

One of the wedding party guys, an officer from somewhere I think, or something, anyway he went down to convince her their intent was not to tear up the lawn and they were only driving where the grass was firm and all that, but that didn't cut it.  Time to regroup, change plans.

(photo by Brent)

Turn around and go back down around the lake and park over there (of course, all the parking spaces were already filled by wedding guest cars by this point).

So they regrouped.  And now the wedding is more than a half hour off schedule.  But what's a wedding without something going wrong, right?

So finally, the wedding begins.   Here comes the groom:

Seriously, if you're going to photograph a wedding, it's good to know who the groom is, and what he looks like.   That man walking alone ahead of all the other guys with girls on their arms?  Yeah, it's a sure bet that's the groom.   The picture above is the only one I got of him coming in.

 OK, so that's rule number one:
1.  KNOW WHO IS WHO beforehand.  If the bride doesn't give you a photo invite, ask her for one.  Trying to remember what a person looks like you've only met once and that was nearly a year ago is not a good idea.  (not to worry, Elisa - I brought my husband, remember?  He's got you covered).   Talk to someone who knows if you don't have the info in advance (usually one of the mother-type women with a corsage pinned on is a sure bet.)

So, everyone came in, just like they were supposed to, and finally it dawns on me the groom is already in place.  The one photo Elisa said she really was hoping we could get was the look on Chantry's face when he sees her come in.  So she's coming in, on the arm of her brother, and I'm trying to find a way to get her in the photo and Chantry watching her, right?

Seriously?  If it weren't blurry ....

Well, the camera just wants to focus on the nearest thing, which is Elisa.  Not Chantry.  (This shows what an amateur I am).   So I panic and throw the lens into manual focus mode.  And try to get a decent shot.   

And then, great!  how did that candle get between me and him?????

So, the aisle is too narrow, the shadows too deep, the guests all too busy getting their own photos and the picture I have in my head is NOT the picture on the camera.

Rule Number Two:   Rehearse "must have" photos with stand-ins if possible before the wedding begins.  That will give you a "second chance" to get it right with the real thing.  Of course, there is no guarantee, ever, but at least it would give you a better chance to do it right.

In the meantime, Brent is getting some beautiful shots of the bride walking down the aisle on the arm of her brother.  Well, they would be except for one thing:

(photo by Brent)

What's wrong with this photo (besides the lack of fill flash)?  What one thing done beforehand would have made it a great photo?
You got it.  A picnic bench full of camera backpacks, does not make for a good background in any wedding photographer's book.  Never, ever.  No matter how gorgeous that bride is.

Rule Number Three:   HIDE THE CAMERA BAGS!

Ok, so now, after all the everything else, the wedding begins.  I'm just shooting away from the back of the audience and I get the backs of everyone, couple included, except for the man marrying him.    And to add to the insult, I forget an important thing.

Remember when I was trying to get that picture of Chantry watching Elisa come down the aisle?  And I flipped the lens off of auto and onto manual?   Yeah, it is a good thing to remember that later on.   A very good thing.   Hello, blurry photos.  Almost every single one from that point forward, until after the wedding when I caught my breath and checked the photos.

Rule Number Four:  Check and Double Check settings throughout the shoot to make sure the camera's doing what you want it to, not what you set it to do (and then forgot).

No way around it, weddings only give you ONE chance to get it right.  Thank heavens we doubled our odds by working as a team.  What I missed, Brent fortunately got.

Oh, yeah, and there was one last thing:
Rule Number Five:  Use a Fill Flash when shadows are being cast
Photo shop can only make up for so much.  After all our effort to make sure my flash attachment was ready for the day, I totally forgot to put it on the camera.  I really did!

It would have made this photo stand out much better.

Anyway, a few other rules I totally spaced:

6.  Avoid horizontal lines 

In my mind, this is what the photo above was supposed to look like:

Ummm, don't think so....


7.  Use layers in the photo (foreground, midground, background)

Of course, when you try that at a wedding, this can be what you end up with - foreground in focus, but nothing else.  Well, there is a place for this, too, I guess.

And last of all,
8.   DO NOT LET THE PEOPLE EAT BEFORE THE PHOTOS ARE DONE!

Yes, sad to admit, we did that.   Seemed like a good idea.  Everyone was hungry, the food was getting cold and the day was growing late.   So the guests ate while we got some bridal photos, and then, just that fast:

Wait a minute!  Where's everyone going?  What is going on here?????
No groom's family photos.
No bride's family photos.
No photos of the entire group of guests together with the bride and groom.
No jumping for joy photos.
No formal shots of anything....

All I can do is hope the other photographers took care of that later at the reception.  Which fortunately for Elisa, we did not do.

Oh well.

In reality, all was not lost.  We really did get some decent photos and I think Elisa will find one or two that will work for her wedding book. Brent did not forget the rules and he got a lot of great ones while mine were coming out blurry, thank heavens.   And if you shoot nearly a thousand photos (between the two of us), one or two are bound to work, right?

But the ones at the end of the day are still my favorites.  In the quiet of the late afternoon, the stress of the party and guests gone, and the blessing of the sun light that comes in that magic hour, this is what we got:

Congratulations Chantry and Elisa!  We hope you're having a wonderful honeymoon, and thank you so much for letting us be part of your special day.